Glory Days: Shields set the tone for NKU national runner-ups

Kenney Shields has taught countless people how to be winning basketball players.

He built a coaching career of four decades by also teaching life lessons, which his former students have never forgotten.

Last week, dozens of his former players showed up at two different book signings Shields had for his new autobiography, "Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else." The title references one of his famous quotes he would use before a game.

The book covers Shields’ life before, during and after his remarkable basketball coaching career, which spanned the former St. Thomas High School, Highlands High School, and Northern Kentucky University. He had a 766-427 record at those schools and has been inducted in 11 halls of fame, including the LaRosa’s Hall of Fame.
The book’s title is taken from a speech Shields often gave before a big game. He told his players: “Go out and do your best … nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.”

Other sayings included, “You hang around the sewer long enough, you start to smell like it, nothing good happens after midnight, and It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you play,” said former player Shannon Minor.

“When he’s coaching and you’re 20, and he’s giving all these quotes, you’re thinking it’s weird,” Minor said. “What’s he talking about? But when you become a father and a teacher, you find yourself using those same quotes. Those are the same things I tell my own players and kids.”

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Highlands head coach Kevin Listerman shouts to his team in 2014.(Photo: Enquirer File)

Minor was one of many former players who came to a book signing event Aug. 3 in Cold Spring. Currently head boys basketball coach at North College Hill High School, he is one of many former Shields players who have gone to the coaching ranks himself.

And he was one of at least five players there from Shields’ best teams of 20 years ago, the group that went to the NCAA Division II championship game in 1996 and 1997, losing the national final on CBS-TV both years. The 1997 team finished a run of three years in which NKU had an 80-16 overall record.

“A lot of former players come out here and the administration comes here to support Coach Shields,” Minor said. “It’s just the friendships that have been there throughout life. Twenty years later, you appreciate it more. You hang out with those guys. It’s a lot of fun to reminisce and to see Coach Shields.”

After a long run of losing seasons, NKU went 25-4 in 1994-95, winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The next year, NKU finished second in the league but went 25-7 overall, losing by seven points (70-63) to Fort Hays State in the national final.

The 1996-97 team went 30-5, winning the GLVC. The Norse lost two one-point games during the regular season and the other two losses came in overtime. NKU posted its four NCAA tourney wins by an average of 19 points.

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Ken Shields poses with former player Andy Listerman Aug. 3 in Cold Spring.(Photo: James Weber/Enquirer)

In the final, The Norse lost 57-56 to Cal State-Bakersfield after shots by Minor and Andy Listerman missed in the final seconds.

Listerman’s shot was a short jumper off an inbounds pass from his brother, Kevin Listerman. The Norse had rallied from a 21-6 deficit.

“Sometimes when I’m mowing the yard, it will pop in my head,” Andy Listerman said. “Not because I missed it, but just the fact the guys on that team and the coaches could say they’re a national champion and have a ring and a banner. For me, that’s why I’m sorry it didn’t go. The fact I couldn’t deliver for coach and my teammates.”

The Listermans both went to Covington Catholic. Andy Listerman eventually became athletic director at Lexington Catholic High School and is currently a teacher at Elder High School, where he coached basketball for eight years. Kevin Listerman was head coach at Boone County and is currently the head boys basketball coach at Highlands.

Andy Listerman said he uses Shields’ quotes all the time.

“Just the camaraderie among the guys,” he said. “The amount of selflessness, I’d never seen another team have that. I’d watch old game films and watch the stuff away from the ball. And I’d see guys give themselves up to get a teammate a shot. It was a fun group of guys. They didn’t care if they scored, as long as we won.”

LaRon Moore, a graduate of Bryan Station High School in Lexington, was the driving force, averaging 16 points or more each season from 1994-97. Shields called the 6-foot-6 forward his best player ever at NKU.

The Listermans were great all-around leaders. Minor played point guard and led the team with five assists a game during the runner-up years.

Guard Paul Cluxton set records, going a perfect 94-of-94 from the free-throw line in 1996-97 to set the NCAA record. He also made more than 100 3-pointers during the runner-up years, hitting nearly half his attempts during that span.

Assistant coaches were Pat Ryan, who was the head baseball coach at Holy Cross until last year, and Dave Bezold, who replaced Shields at NKU in 2004.

“They were talented players and they were really team-oriented, unselfish players,” Shields said. “The Listermans were the catalysts. They didn’t care who scored. They made everyone better. (Cluxton), people forget he led the nation in 3-point shooting. He didn’t have great quickness but he never took a bad shot. He had the uncanny way of being ready to shoot and he could always see what the defender was doing.”

The Norse had a steady supply of good centers during those years, led by starters Reggie Talbert and Cliff Clinton.

John Gibson, a 6-foot-7 center from Simon Kenton, originally played football for the University of Kentucky but eventually transferred to NKU and focused on hoops.

“We had a lot of fun. Traveling around, getting to play the teams we got to play,” Gibson said. “The thing we did best – we always shot well and defended well, but our chemistry was tremendous. All of my best friends today were on that team.”

Minor said a three-overtime win in 1995 against Kentucky Wesleyan to end the regular season spring-boarded the Norse to the success they had the next two seasons. That win gave NKU the GLVC title that year, a major boost that followed five straight losing seasons in which the Norse never won more than 14 games. Shields always thought that season was a make-or-break year for his job security.

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Ken Shields yells out to his team on his way to his 300th win as NKU battled College of Mount St. Joseph at Regents Hall on the NKU campus Tuesday, December 30, 2003.(Photo: Enquirer file)

Dave Schabell, a former high school basketball coach and long-time friend of Shields, spent several years writing the book. Longtime journalist Terry Boehmker and NKU’s Rick Meyers edited it down to its final form.

Shields, 75, spends his retirement talking to young players and giving camps during the summer. Born in Covington, he is also on the board of the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and is a fountain of knowledge for local history.

His former players who became coaches certainly pass down his basketball knowledge, but all still teach his life lessons.

“How to be a good person,” Gibson said. “Watching him interact with people, to this day. How he treated us as a team and as people in general. Normal life lessons, more than anything. Of course, the basketball, but how to be a good human more than anything.”

Book info

The book is available for $20, which includes shipping. Send request to Ken Shields book, 25 Scenic View Drive, Fort Thomas, KY 41075.

The city of Covington will celebrate Shields and the book from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at Behringer-Crawford Museum. Copies of the book will be available there.

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Kenney Shields talks to a fan Aug. 3.(Photo: James Weber/Enquirer)

Players from the 1996 and 1997 teams

Shannon Minor (Colerain HS): The guard led the team in assists all three seasons from 1995-97. His 176 assists in 1996-97 are second-most in school history. He scored 1,230 career points and had 228 3-pointers, and is second in school history with 529 assists.

Andy Listerman (CovCath): The guard was a junior in 1997 and a regular starter through his career.

Kevin Listerman (CovCath): He was a sophomore in 1997. The brothers played together one more year in 1997-98. He averaged more than two steals per game very season he was at NKU, with a school record 2.6 per season, and is the all-time leader in steals.

Todd Clark (Holy Cross): The 6-foot-6 forward was a sophomore in 1997. NKU’s third leading scorer in the 1997 final with eight points. He shot 58.5 percent that year to lead the team. He was a regular starter in 1997-98.

Paul Cluxton (Lynchburg, Ohio): The 6-foot-3 guard is arguably the best shooter in Norse history. He was a senior in 1997. His 111 3-pointers in 1996-97 are second in school history. Ranks 10th in school history with 1,495 points and second in treys with 303. He shot 49 percent from 3-point range in his career and 93.5 from the foul line (272-291). Third team All-American in 1996-97.

Jason James (Boone County HS): A 6-foot-7 forward on the 1997 team came from Boone County High School.

LaRon Moore (Bryan Station HS): The 6-foot-6 forward was a senior in 1997. He led the team in scoring for three seasons (1994-97) and ranks fifth in school history with 1,866 career points, and first in rebounds with 859. Third team all-American in 1996-97. Three-time first team all-GLVC.

Cliff Clinton (Bradenton, Fla.): The 6-foot-7 center was a junior in 1997. He scored 12 points in the 1997 national championship game. He was the team’s leading scorer in 1997-98 and leading rebounder in 1996-97. He also averaged two blocks per game that year. His .603 career shooting percentage is third all-time.

Mike Vieth (St. Henry HS): The 6-foot-11 center was a sophomore in 1997 and full-time starter in 1998-99.

John Gibson (Simon Kenton HS); The 6-foot-7 center and former UK football player was a junior in 1997.

Jamie Pieratt (Scott County HS); The 6-foot-3 guard was a junior on the 1995-96 team.

Andre McClendon (Holy Cross HS): The 6-foot-4 forward was a senior in 1996 and regular starter. He shot .574 in 1995-96 to lead the team.

Reggie Talbert: (Bryan Station HS): The 6-foot-7 center was the starting center in the 1995-96 team. Originally transferred from Division I Dartmouth. He was the team’s leading rebounder in 1994-95 (8.5). He shot 61 percent from the floor in 1994-95.

Chuck Perry (Columbus, Ohio): The 6-foot-6 forward was a senior in 1996.

Demond Lane: Scored six points in the 1997 final. The guard was one of seven players to play every game in the 1996-97 season.